Our team

Peter Baughan

Director, Solicitor and Mediator

Peter has worked exclusively in family law since qualifying as a solicitor in 1997.

Peter is a numbers geek and enjoys working with accounts, pensions and family companies. He has a special interest in cases involving family businesses, companies, and trusts. He was recently involved in a reported case involving houses and a business in this country, and divorce proceedings in a different country. This was resolved by converting the divorce proceedings to a different type of legal process.

He also has a wide experience of complex children’s cases, including decisions about where children live, and how they should be represented.
Peter was one of the first lawyers in the country to train as a collaborative lawyer and helped found the Good Divorce Group.  He is an accredited family mediator.

Peter’s interests include dogs, going to the gym, eating, cooking and socialising, and tropical plant gardening. But mainly dogs and eating.
He is sympathetic and supportive of his clients, and you can always rely on him for realistic, practical advice. Peter is also protective of his client’s rights.

Patricia Brodie

Director, Solicitor and Mediator

Patricia Brodie is one of the founding partners of BBL Family Law. She specialises in all aspects of family law and relationship breakdown, is a trained Resolution collaborative lawyer and an accredited Resolution mediator. Twenty years ago, Patricia was one of the very first family lawyers to incorporate family mediation in a solicitors’ practice.

With over 25 years’ experience in divorce and family law Patricia is a dedicated and approachable family lawyer and mediator. She enjoys dealing with a varied caseload including divorce, maintenance, and resolving financial issues. Her specialisms are cases that involve family businesses and high net worth individuals and issues regarding children.

Outside of work, Patricia is a food obsessed campervan enthusiast who enjoys taking long walks with her adopted Spanish rescue dogs. She’s also a whizz at cooking plant-based food and enjoys yoga and wellbeing retreats.

Beverley Long

Director, Solicitor and Mediator

Beverley has been a family lawyer and mediator in Norfolk for more years than she dares to remember.  However complex or unusual the divorce or separation case may be, she is known for being relentless in her pursuit of solutions that are realistic and workable.

Beverley is finely attuned to the emotional impact of divorce and court proceedings on families, especially children. She is expert at parenting issues, and she is one of the only mediators in Norfolk qualified to directly consult with children and young people in mediation.

Beverley is a trained collaborative lawyer and keen to involve other experts and professionals in all disciplines of her work in a way that benefits the client.  She is also an active member of the Norfolk Good Divorce Group.

When litigation is the only way of helping divorcing couples to resolve their disputes, Beverley remains committed to giving clear and practical advice. She’s especially committed to encouraging her clients to consider alternative approaches to resolving their disputes, enabling them to move forward with their lives in a dignified way.

When Beverley’s not working tirelessly for her clients, she can be found cycling, wild swimming, taking a long country walk or enjoying her daily yoga practice. She also loves travel, with the Far East being one of her favourite places.

Matthew Lord

Director, Solicitor and Mediator

Matthew qualified as a solicitor in September 2006 and has been part of the team since we first launched in May 2009. He has wide and varied experience dealing with all aspects of family law, including divorce and separation, civil partnership dissolution, financial matters, cohabitation, preparation of pre and post marital agreements, and private law children disputes. He also deals with cases that have an international element.

As a member of Resolution, Matthew is committed to resolving cases in a constructive and conciliatory manner through negotiation, wherever possible. He is a volunteer with the Norfolk Community Legal Service initiative providing free legal advice to the local community.

As a solicitor and mediator, Matthew has a careful and considered approach that is efficient and effective.

Outside of work he enjoys playing and watching sports, spending time with his family and friends, and taking the occasional trip back home to his native Yorkshire. Most of the time, though, he has his hands full with his two small children!

Lucy Steele

Director, Solicitor and Mediator

Lucy is a family law specialist, with particular emphasis on resolving financial issues upon divorce.  She regularly deals with high-net-worth individuals and cases involving family businesses and complex pension arrangements. Lucy has a particular interest in cases with an international element, where one or both parties have links to or live in another country.

Lucy also has wide experience with complex children cases dealing with matters such as where/with whom a child should live, relocation of a child and parental responsibility.  Lucy also deals with ‘fact find’ hearings, where the court is needed to decide the factual background of a situation before arrangements for a child can be determined.  She also deals with specific issues such as a change of a child’s name, school, or permission to take a child abroad.

Lucy provides commercial advice to her clients and is widely respected for her compassionate but pro-active approach.  She is a mediator and collaborative lawyer and is committed to resolving cases in a constructive and pro-active manner.

Lucy loves travelling, going on crazy adventures to far-flung places. She’s even fried an egg on a volcano and been stranded on a desert island, although she’s quick to add that’s not as glamorous as it sounds. When she’s not exploring, Lucy can be heard playing in the Norwich Philharmonic but it’s unlikely you’ll see her because she’s usually hiding at the back.

Emerald Priscott

Solicitor

Emerald qualified in 2019 and joined us in June 2022, after building up her experience at other Norfolk-based law firms. Before joining, Emerald was already establishing herself as a family law superstar after being shortlisted for the ‘Junior Lawyer of the Year 2021’ and ‘The Amanda Owens Family Lawyer of the Year Award’ at the Norwich and Norfolk Law Society Excellence Awards. Both those awards celebrate an exceptional standard of work and recognise lawyers who excel in their role.

Emerald handles a full spectrum of family matters including divorce, civil partnership dissolution, family finances and separation disputes. She advises unmarried couples on separation in respect of their property rights and regularly deals with arrangements for children.

Emerald is co-secretary and committee member for the Norfolk branch of Resolution, and volunteers for the Citizens Advice Bureau and Norfolk Community Law Service. She also has a visiting lecturer role at the University of Law, teaching students at the University of East Anglia.

Emerald enjoys baking and is usually the ‘go to’ family member who’s asked to create something tasty and calorific for birthdays or celebrations. She also enjoys travelling, going on city breaks, and taking part in adventurous – some might say insane! – activities including downhill mountain biking, quad biking, and horse riding (okay, horse riding is definitely not too mad!). She also recently tried learning to snowboard, but that didn’t go so well…

Closer to home, Emerald regularly attends fitness classes and enjoys taking her dog, Fifi, on walks in the countryside.

Tara Saunders

Legal Secretary

Tara joined our team in July 2019 and has 17 years of experience. Tara provides excellent service and client care, adopting a friendly approach to all our existing clients and new enquiries. As an integral member of our team, she primarily supports Peter Baughan, Beverley Long and Emerald Priscott with legal work.

Tara is often supported by her French bulldog Logan who enjoys a walk at lunchtime and an afternoon nap.

Laura Rivett

Legal Secretary

Laura joined us in March 2023 and has 10 years of experience as a legal secretary. Laura is friendly and provides excellent service to our existing clients and new enquiries. She primarily supports Lucy Steele, Matthew Lord and Patricia Brodie with legal work.

Claire Smith

Mediation Administrator

Claire joined the team in August 2022 and is responsible for running our mediation services. As your first point of call, Claire sets a high standard for efficiency and friendliness to help you navigate through the mediation process.